After Joel Matip’s latest winner saw Liverpool kick off their Champions League campaign against Ajax, in his post-match press conference Jurgen Klopp spoke about the Reds’ joy at set pieces. and an “interesting” new idea from Chelsea owner Todd Boehly.
Here are four key takeaways from the manager’s press conference after a crucial win at Anfield:
The last two performances “is not the same sport”
After a terrible night in Napoli, Liverpool needed a reaction, and they got it.
Klopp was delighted with the team’s overall performance against Ajax. A world away from the nightmare that was shown in Italy last week.
“I think if you put the two games, Napoli and tonight next to each other, you don’t recognize that it’s the same sport,” he said.
“Everything was different. The beginning was different, the middle was different, the end was different, the football we played, the way we defended, everything was different. Much higher intensity, much more aggressive, braver, smarter. Pretty much everything was better.
“It’s the first step, nothing more, no more, but everything was better.”
I should have scored earlier from a set piece!
Liverpool’s well-deserved goal came when Joel Matip finally headed in one of the Reds’ several set-piece opportunities.
Jurgen couldn’t believe his team didn’t manage to score from one earlier!
“We had these quick plays, quick restarts with Thiago where we try to take advantage of these moments,” he said.
“Sometimes you have to wait a little longer, but I don’t think anyone was surprised that it was a set piece, because our set pieces tonight were really good and I have no idea why we didn’t score with them sooner. , because almost every set piece was a threat if I’m not mistaken.
“After the big celebrations, Joel’s face showed exactly how we all felt at that moment.”
Brilliant response to Chelsea owner’s ‘north vs south’ idea
This was Klopp’s trademark.
Earlier in the day, Chelsea’s new American owner Todd Boehly had suggested that a north-south game would be a good idea to boost revenue in the Premier League.
Jürgen’s response? hilarious
“He doesn’t hesitate, huh? He doesn’t expect much! Excellent! When he finds a date for that, he can call me,” Klopp said.
“Forget that in the big sports in the United States, these players have four-month breaks, so they are very happy to be able to do a little sport in these breaks.
“It is completely different in football. Do you want to bring the globetrotters from Harlem too? Play against a soccer team?
“Did he really say it? Interesting!”
Primordial Emotion Relief
You could see the relief on Jurgen’s face when Matip’s header went in.
It’s understandable, actually, given the criticism his team has received in the last week or so. This was a great victory.
“No one gets carried away tonight,” he insisted.
“It’s not that the guys sit in the locker room and can’t put their arms down. It’s more relief. We showed ourselves and the outside world that we understood, we reacted. The guys really reacted, I really liked that.
“The reaction to show that we can still do these things, that was the biggest thing tonight.”
